Impact of library spending on the research output of the institution

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact and role of libraries of the Institutes of Management in India in their research output. The study is based on the seven point performance evaluation parameter, whereby each individual library has been ranked on the basis of aggregate performance against each individual parameter. Some of the key parameters evaluated, include, preference of resource procurement namely, electronic or print, utilisation of library budget towards the procurement of print and electronic resources, average fund utilisation on resource procurement against each published research article and average fund utilisation on resource procurement against each faculty member. Research output against each faculty member and various other similar aspects have been evaluated. Design/methodology/approach The study is limited to the management institutes of India, but the findings can be generalised to assess omit it the overall trend across the management institutes in general and India in particular. The study is based on 2016 ranking list of Institutes of Management in India, compiled and released by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Govt. of India for the period 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. Findings From the data analysis, it emerged that almost three-fourth of the library budget in the leading Management Institutes across India is being spent on the procurement of e-documents, mostly in the form of subscription of online journals. On average 1.18 research articles have been published by each faculty member during the period of study from each institute under study, with an average annual institutional research output of 19.63 research articles. In terms of resource allocation, on average Indian Rupees (INR) 0.986/million has been spent by each institutional library on the resource procurement against each published research article, and INR1.166/million has been spent on the resource procurement against each faculty member. Practical implications The study is an attempt to seek correlation between the money spend on the procurement of resources and its direct impact on the research output of that particular institution. Originality/value The study is original and first of its kind, undertaken in India.